Cochem and Trier

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Geo: 50.1455, 7.16602

This was another day of driving for poor old Steven - but lovely scenery for the rest of us! We drove to Cochem, a small town on the Moselle River....it was very pretty, but the weather was a little bit bleak. Unfortunately, we were aiming for a 1pm tour of the castle which overlooked the city, but were cutting it too fine to make the tour...we stopped in town for some German sausages (Tom had indicated that he didn't like German sausages, based on an experience at the Eumundi markets, which Jonathan was determined to overcome!) but couldn't easily find the road up to the castle...by the time we got there, the tour had left, and it wasn't possible to enter the castle. However, the view from the castle was great....

We then drove to just outside Trier, for a wine tasting at http://www.karthaeuserhof.com/. Again, thankyou to Steven, who didn't want to taste wine (he was driving) and who took the kids out. The estate was once the property of the monks liberated and auctioned off by Napoleon after his conquest of the area. The Rieslings were not what I was used to - I think of white wine as something served very cold when the weather is hot, and these were more "sip by a fireplace" whites, but they were certainly very nice. I've bought some bottles which will be even better when we return in 10 years - I'll cellar them at the mill!

Steven and the kids explored the little town and the estate, finding a bakery and buying jelly donuts ("I am a Berliner"!). After driving home, I made minestrone for dinner....and we all watched "The Pirate Band of Misfits" movie!

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